Demountable ribbon reel

ABSTRACT

A reel for holding a roll of material such as expendable tape or an inked ribbon is provided with demountable flanges and spool retaining means therebetween, such reel affording optimized utility as material supply means in a material utilizing device, and as take-up and disposal means for the material after it has been utilized by the device, a pair of demountable flanges of the reel permitting convenient discarding of the spool with the utilized material wrapped therearound, the flanges being thereafter reassemblable for reuse in the device with a new spool installed therebetween.

United States Patent Horak Jan. 21, 1975 DEMOUNTABLE RIBBON REEL lPrimary Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy 75 I t.Ath H kDt t,Mh. 1 men or n(my on e m1 is Attorney, Agent, or F1rmEdw1n W. Uren; Edward G. [73]Assignee: Burroughs Corporation, Detroit, Fi rit Paul W, Fish Mich. 22Filed: Sept. 17,1973 [57] ABSTRACT A reel for holding a roll of materialsuch as expend- [21] Appl' 398,189 able tape or an inked ribbon isprovided with demountable flanges and spool retaining means therebe- 521US. Cl. 242/7l.8, 242/116 tween, Such reel affording Optimized utilityas material 51 1111. C1 B65h 75/18 Supply means in a material utilizingdevice, and as [58] Field 01 Search 242/7l.8, 71.8 A, 115, p anddisposal means for the material after it 2212/ 1 has been utilized bythe device,,a pair of demountable flanges of the reel permittingconvenient discarding of [56] References Ci the spool with the utilizedmaterial wrapped there- UNITED STATES PATENTS around, the flanges beingthereafter reassemblable for 2 476 928 7/1949 Th 242,116 X reuse in thedevice with a new spool installed therebeomas 2,881,985 4/1959Overmire.... 242/71.8 A tweet" 3,415,458 12/1968 Newell 242/71.8 A 14Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIED 3.861.614 sum 2 or 2 DEMOUNTABLERIBBON REEL CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The inventive reelwith its demountable flanges finds particular use in ribbon utilizingdevices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,797,773 and 3,800,254which were issued to Jack Beery and assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many known printing and MICR encodingdevices utilize a one-time expendable ribbon that is transported from asupply source through a printing or encoding station and then windablycollected on a take-up spool for subsequent discarding. These knowndevices have commonly experienced problems either with respect to theefficient collection of the utilized ribbon on a flangeless expendablespool, or with respect to the discardable unwinding of the utilizedribbon from a flanged take-up reel the cost of which would preclude itsdiscarding. A typical ribbon transport and take-up mechanism, as used inan MICR encoding device, is disclosed in the above reference patents toJack Berry, and briefly summarized in the following.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a typical transport and take-upmechanism for an expendable ribbon 11 might be comprised of a supplyreel 13 and a take-up reel or spool 15, the supply reel 13 being freelyrotatable on a motor drive shaft 17 and the take-up spool 15 beingcoupled to the drive shaft 17 for rotation therewith. The expendableribbon 1'1' is withdrawn from the reel 13 and transported past autilizing device such as a printer or encoder 19 by a driven roller 21,such withdrawal being tensionally controlled by a braking devicegenerally designated at 23, the ribbon being controllably collected onthe take-up spool 15 following its utilization by means of the motordrive shaft 17 and a motor control device generally indicated at 25. Thecontrol device 25 serves to intermittently start and stop the motordrive shaft 17 such that ribbon tension between the driven roller 21 andthe take-up spool 15 is maintained within predetermined tensionallimits.

In the ribbon transport and take-up mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,797,773 and 3,800,254, the utilized ribbon collected on thetake-up spool 15 would be disposed of either by removing and discardingthe spool 15 or by unwinding the ribbon therefrom prior to itsdiscarding. In either event objectionable experiences would be entailedas by the incurrence of excessive costs were a flanged spool 15 to bediscarded, or as by the objectionable handling and unwinding of theutilized ribbon from the spool were a flangeless inexpensive spool 15 tobe employed.

Another disadvantage that would arise in connection with the ribbontransport and take-up mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the needfor supplying different kinds of reels for supply and take-up purposes,the supply reel 13 being of a more expensive type having flanges ofpredetermined larger diameter, and the takeup spool being of a lessexpensive type employing either no flanges or flanges of predeterminedlesser diameter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly an object of the presentinvention to provide a multi-purpose reel that may be utilized inprinting or encoding devices either for ribbon supply or take-uppurposes, the ribbon in either event being wound around an inexpensivediscardable spool carried intermediate the flanges thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a take-up reelthe flanges of which are coupled together in such manner as to carry aremovable spool therebetween, the flanges being further demountable suchthat the spool may be conveniently discarded with the utilized ribboncollected therearound.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ribbontake-up reel having demountable flanges for operably accommodating aninexpensive and discardable spool, the spool being convenientlyremovable from the reel after the utilized ribbon has been woundtherearound, the utilized ribbon being thereby rendered disposablewithout resorting to objectionable ribbon handling.

An important aspect of the inventive ribbon reel is the provision of apair of separatably connectable spool-carrying-flanges that may berotatably mounted on a ribbon utilizing device, anchoring means being Iprovided on a first of the flanges for holding the spool in fixedangular relationship relative to the rotatable flanges when the flangesare interconnected, and a second of the flanges being provided withlatching means cooperating with the anchoring means of the first flangefor holding a spool intermediate the flanges.

Another important aspect of the inventive ribbon reel is the resilientcharacteristic of the latching means of the second flange, suchcharacteristic permitting yieldable response to manual manipulation tothereby effectuate separation of the flanges, and permitting readycooperation with the anchoring means of the first flange upon manualrelease thereof to thereby effectuate couplable connection between theflanges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These and other objects and advantagesof the invention will become apparent from the following descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a ribbon utilizing device such asthat disclosed in the abovereferenced patents.

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded elevational view of the inventive demountableribbon reel in association with mounting means of the utilizing device;

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of the uppermost flange of the demountablereel showing the latching means thereof in disengaged relationshiprelative to the anchoring means of the lowermost flange;

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the uppermost flange showing thelatching means thereof in engaged relationship relative to the anchoringmeans; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and showing thevarious parts of the demountable reel in assembled relationship.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As best illustrated in FIG. 3,the inventive demountable ribbon reel is comprised of a first flange 27and a second flange 29, the flange 27 being provided with a pair ofnormally disposed anchor posts 31 fixed to the inner surface thereof inradially opposite relationship relative to a central aperture 33, thelatter aperture 33 being formed in a raised portion 35 and in a hubportion 37 (FIG. 6) of the flange 27, such aperture being provided withany suitable means for cooperably engaging the motor drive shaft 17 ofthe utilizing device, as for example by a pair of oppositely disposedprojections 39 formed therein. Each of the anchor posts 31 is providedwith a rectilinear recess 41 formed on the side thereof adjacent thecentral aperture 33, such recess presenting an upper ledge 43 thefunction of which will be described hereinafter.

The second flange 29 is provided with a pair of circular apertures 45radially and oppositely disposed of the central point thereof, suchapertures being effective for receiving the anchor posts 31 of the firstflange 27 when the second flange 29 is coupled thereto. The secondflange 29 is additionally provided with a resilient U-shaped membergenerally indicated at 47, such U- shaped member being pinned to theouter surface of the second flange 29 by means of a pin 49 securing ahub 51 of the U-shaped member to the flange 29, as best illustrated inFIG. 4. The resilient U-shaped member 47 is additionally provided with apair of integrally formed offset knife-like projections 53 disposed atthe free-end extremities thereof, and with a pair of weblike offset tabs55 disposed latitudinally opposite the knife-like projections 53. It isto be noted that the resilient U-shaped member 47 is provided with anormal set effective for disposing the knife-like projections 53 inprotruding and intercepting relationship relative to a portion of thecircumference of the circular apertures 45, to thereby provide latchingengagement of the projections 53 with the ledges 43 of the anchor posts31 when the second flange 29 is coupled to the first flange 27, ashereinafter described. The second flange 29 is further provided with aguide bar 57 for guidably protecting the knife-like projections 53during the demounting and reassembly of the second flange 29 from and tothe first flange 27.

The inventive demountable ribbon reel is designed to operatively carry aspool 59 therewithin, as for windably holding a ribbon to be utilized ina ribbon utilizing device, the spool 59 being comprised of a hub member61 having a partitioned central aperture 63 with a partition 65 forengagement with a slot formed in the motor drive shaft 17, and comprisedalso of a web portion 67 and a circumferential rim 69 around which theribbon is wound. It is to be noted that the relative dimensions of theraised portion 35 of the flange 27 and of the extension of the rim 69beyond the web portion 67 of the spool 59 are such that the lowersurface of the rim 69 will contact the innermost surface of the flange27 outwardly of the raised portion 35 thereof, when the spool 59 isassembled onto the first flange 27. It is also to be noted that thefirst flange 27 and second flange 29 may be provided with a plurality ofopenings 71 to thereby lighten the weight of the flanges and to permitvisibility of the wound ribbon therebetween. The spool 59 is alsoprovided with a plurality of paired apertures 73 for receiving theanchor posts 31 of the first flange 27.

To install a ribbon in the inventive demountable reel,

. a ribbon would be wound onto the spool 59 (as by the manufacturer),the spool 59 being then installed onto the first flange 27 byintroducing a pair of the paired apertures 73 thereof over the anchorposts 31, completion of the assembly then being accomplished byinstalling the second flange 29 onto the first flange 27 by engaging thecircular apertures 45 of the second flange 29 with the anchor posts 31of the first flange 27, such process being accomplished by manuallycontracting the web-like offset tabs 55 of the U-shaped member 47 so asto displace the knife-like projections 53 thereof from the apertures 45,release of the tabs 55 permitting the U-shaped member to assume itsnormal set wherein the knife-like projections 53 are latchably engagedwith the upper ledges 43 of the recesses 41 formed in the anchor posts31.

To removably dispose of a utilized ribbon wound around the spool 59, aswhen the reel is located in the ribbon take-up position illustrated at15 in FIG. 2, a reverse procedure would be followed whereby the offsettabs 55 would be manually contracted to disengage the knife-likeprojections 53 from the upper ledges 43 of the recesses 41, the secondflange 29 being thereafter removed from the first flange 27, andparticularly from the anchor posts 31 thereof, the spool 59 with thecollected utilized ribbon wound therearound being then removed from thefirst flange 27 for convenient discarding.

FIG. 3 is illustrative of how the inventive demountable ribbon reelmight be coupled to the motor drive shaft 17 of the ribbon utilizingdevice illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a sleeve 75 being fixed to themotor drive shaft 17 by means of set screws to thereby provide couplingwith the first flange 27 by means of the projections 39 thereof and apair of oppositely disposed teeth 77 forming a part of the sleeve 75.The previously mentioned slot formed in the motor drive shaft 17 wouldadditionally engage the partition formed in the central aperture 63 ofthe spool 59 to provide a direct drive as between the motor drive shaft17 and the spool 59.

While the preferred embodiment of the demountable ribbon reel has beendescribed herein in considerable detail, it will be appreciated thatvarious modifications and alterations therein may be conceived bypersons skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A reel for windably holding a roll of material and wherein thematerial may be conveniently installed therein and removed therefrom,said reel comprising:

a. a pair of separatable spaced-apart flanges at least a first of whichis provided with a central aperture serving as an axis of rotation forsaid reel and also as engaging means relative to a material utilizingdevice,

b. first means associated with said first flange for holding a spool infixed angular relationship relative to and intermediate said flanges andfor windably activating a second of said flanges in response to thewindable activation of said first flange by said material utilizingdevice, said first means including a pair of cylindrical anchor postsfixed to said first flange and a pair of circular apertures formed insaid second flange, and

c. second means associated with said second flange and engageablycooperating with said first means to securably hold said spool betweensaid flanges such that said spool defines said spaced-apart relationshiptherebetween, said second means including a pair of rectilinear recessesformed in said pair of cylindrical anchor posts and resilient latchingmeans operatively coupled to said second flange, said resilient latchingmeans being manually manipulatable to disengage said second flange fromsaid first flange to thereby effectuate removal or installation of saidspool, the installation of a said spool being for the purpose ofutilizing the material wound therearound and the removal of a said spoolbeing for the purpose of disposing of the utilized material collectedtherearound.

2. A reel as defined in claim 1 wherein said pair of cylindrical anchorposts of said first means are fixed to and normally disposed of theplanar surface of said first flange adjacent said second flange, and aredisposed also in radial straddling relationship to said central apertureof said first flange, said anchor posts being effective for receiving asaid spool by means of at least a pair of correspondingly disposedapertures formed therein, and wherein said pair of circular apertures ofsaid first means are formed in said second flange in correspondingradial relationship to said pair of anchor posts fixed to said firstflange, said apertures being effective for receiving said anchor poststo thereby effect said windable activation of said second flange inresponse to the activation of said first flange by said materialutilizing device.

3. A reel as defined in claim 2 wherein said pair of rectilinearrecesses of said second means formed in said anchor posts of said firstmeans are of predetermined length and depth and disposed on the side ofsaid anchor posts adjacent said central aperture of said first flange,and wherein said resilient latching means operatively coupled to saidsecond flange is disposed on the exterior planar surface thereofopposite the surface adjacent said first flange, said resilient latchingmeans being contiguously disposed relative to said pair of circularapertures formed in said second flange and cooperably disposed relativeto said rectilinear recesses formed in said anchor posts such that asaid spool is securably held between said flanges.

4. A reel as defined in claim 3 wherein said resilient latching meanscomprises:

a. a generally U-shaped web member attached to said exterior planarsurface of said second flange at a predetermined intermediate pointalong a base portion of said web member, and

b. a pair of offset projections integrally formed on the free-endextremities of said U-shaped web member, said projections extendingoutwardly of the web member in a plane contiguous to and parallel withthe plane of said exterior surface of said second flange, said free-endextremities of said web member being yieldably displaceable from anormal set inwardly of said pair of circular apertures formed in saidsecond flange and of said pair of anchor posts fixed to said firstflange such that upon termination of said displacement said extremitiesresiliently return to said normal set wherein said projections thereoflatchably engage said pair of rectilinear recesses of said anchor postsand particularly a pair of outermost ledges formed thereby.

5. A reel as defined in claim 4 wherein said resilient latching means isadditionally provided with a protective guide bar fixed to said exteriorsurface of said second flange, said bar serving to guidably retain andto support the outermost extremities of said offset projections of saidU-shaped web member during said yieldable displacement and resilientreturn thereof, said support serving further to oppose extraneous forcesthat might be applied to said U-shaped web member and to therebypreserve said attachment thereof to said exterior surface of said secondflange.

6. A reel as defined in claim 4 wherein said U-shaped web member isadditionally provided with a pair of manually operable tabs integrallyformed on the freeend extremities thereof opposite said offsetprojections, said pair of tabs being manually contractable to effectuatesaid yieldable displacement of said free-end extremities and said offsetprojections to thereby unlatch said offset projections and said secondflange from said anchor posts and said first flange.

7. A ribbon take-up reel for use in a ribbon utilizing device whereinthe utilized ribbon may be effectively collected and disposed of, saidtake-up reel comprising;

a. a pair of separatable spaced-apart flanges at least a first of whichis provided with a central aperture serving as an axis of rotation forsaid reel and also as engaging means relative to said ribbon utilizingdevice,

b. a ribbon spool effective for windably collecting said utilized ribbonfor effectively disposing of same, said spool having a central aperturecoaxially disposed of said central aperture of said first flange andengageable by said ribbon utilizing device,

c. first means associated with said first flange for holding said ribbonspool in fixed angular relationship relative to and intermediate saidflanges and for rotatably activating a second of said flanges inresponse to the activation of said first flange by said ribbon utilizingdevice, said first means including a pair of cylindrical anchor postsfixed to said first flange and a pair of circular apertures formed insaid second flange, and

d. second means associated with said second flange and engageablycooperating with said first means to securably hold said ribbon spoolbetween said flanges such that said spool defines said spacedapartrelationship therebetween, said second means including a pair ofrectilinear recesses formed in said pair of cylindrical anchor posts andresilient latching means operatively coupled to said second flange, saidresilient latching means being manually manipulatable to disengage saidsecond flange from said first flange to thereby effectuate removal ofsaid ribbon spool and disposition of the utilized ribbon woundablycollected therearound.

8. A reel as defined in claim 7 wherein said pair of cylindrical anchorposts of said first means are fixed to and normally disposed of theplanar surface of said first flange adjacent said second flange, and aredisposed in radial straddling relationship to said central aperture ofsaid first flange, said anchor posts being effective for receiving asaid ribbon spool by means of at least a pair of correspondinglydisposed apertures formed therein, and wherein said pair of circularapertures of said first means are formed in said second flange incorresponding radial relationship to said pair of anchor posts fixed tosaid first flange, said apertures being effective for receiving saidanchor posts to thereby effect said windable activation of said secondflange in response to the activation of said first flange by said ribbonutilizing device.

9. A reel as defined in claim 8 wherein said pair of rectilinearrecesses of said second means formed in said anchor posts of said firstmeans are of predetermined length and depth and disposed on the side ofsaid anchor posts adjacent said central aperture of said first flange,and wherein said resilient latching means operatively coupled to saidsecond flange is disposed on the exterior planar surface thereofopposite the surface adjacent said first flange, said resilient latchingmeans being contiguously disposed relative to said pair of circularapertures formed in said second flange and cooperably disposed relativeto said rectilinear recesses formed in said anchor posts such that asaid ribbon spool is securably held between said flanges.

10. A reel as defined in claim 9 wherein said resilient latching meanscomprises:

a. a generally U-shaped web member attached to said exterior planarsurface of said second flange at a predetermined intermediate pointalong a base portion of said web member, and

b. a pair of offset projections integrally formed on the free-endextremities of said U-shaped web member, said projections extendingoutwardly of the web member in a plane contiguous to and parallel withthe plane of said exterior surface of said second flange, said free-endextremities of said web member being yieldably displaceable from anormal set inwardly of said pair of circular apertures formed in saidsecond flange and of said pair of anchor posts fixed to said firstflange such that upon termination of said displacement said extremitiesresiliently return to said normal set wherein said projections thereoflatchably engage said pair of rectilinear recesses of said anchor postsand particularly a pair of outermost ledges formed thereby.

11. A reel as defined in claim 10 wherein said resilient latching meansis additionally provided with a protective guide bar fixed to saidexterior surface of said second flange, said bar serving to guidablyretain and to support the outermost extremities of said offsetprojections of said U-shaped web member during said yieldabledisplacement and resilient return thereof, said support serving furtherto oppose extraneous forces that might be applied to said U-shaped webmember and to thereby preserve said attachment thereof to said exteriorsurface of said second flange.

12. A reel as defined in claim 10 wherein said U- shaped web member isadditionally provided with a pair of manually operable tabs integrallyformed on the free-end extremities thereof opposite said offsetprojections, said pair of tabs being manually contractable to effectuatesaid yieldable displacement of said free-end extremities and said offsetprojections to thereby unlatch said offset projections and said secondflange from said anchor posts and said first flange.

13. A device for windably holding a roll of material in materialutilizing apparatus such that a roll of used material may convenientlybe removed therefrom and discarded, said device comprising:

a. a first retainer member having a central aperture engageablyassociated with said utilizing apparatus and having also a pair ofrecessed cylindrical anchor posts normally disposed of said first memberon opposite sides of said central aperture,

b. a material holding member receivable by said cylindrical anchor postsfor windable rotation with said first retainer member, and

c. a second retainer member having a pair of apertures receivablycorresponding to said pair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts of saidfirst retainer member, and having also manually operable resilientlatching means cooperably associated with the recesses of said pair ofrecessed cylindrical anchor posts such that upon the manual manipulationof said latching means against its normal resiliency said secondretainer member may be removed from said first retainer member to permitthe discarding of said material holding member and the used materialwound therearound.

14. A device for holding a roll of material in material utilizingapparatus such that a roll of unused material may be installed thereinpreparatory to its unwindable utilization, and such that a roll ofrewound used mate rial may be removed therefrom and discarded, saiddevice comprising:

a. a first retainer member having a central aperture engageablyassociated with said utilizing apparatus and having also a pair ofrecessed cylindrical anchor posts normally disposed of said first memberon opposite sides of said central aperture, and

b. a second retainer member having a pair of apertures receivablycorresponding to said pair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts of saidfirst retainer member, and having also manually operable resilientlatching means cooperably associated with the recesses of said pair ofrecessed cylindrical anchor posts such that said second retainer membermay be removed from said first retainer member for the insertableinstallation of a new roll of unused material therebetween and for theremoval of a roll of used material therefrom, the manual manipulation ofsaid latching means against its normal resiliency serving to effectuatesaid removal of said first retainer member from said second retainermember and the release of said latching means to the control of itsnormal resiliency upon said insertable installation of a new roll ofunused material serving to secure said second retainer member to saidfirst retainer member preparatory to the unwindable utilization of saidnew roll of material by said material utilizing apparatus.

1. A reel for windably holding a roll of material and wherein thematerial may be conveniently installed therein and removed therefrom,said reel comprising: a. a pair of separatable spaced-apart flanges atleast a first of which is provided with a central aperture serving as anaxis of rotation for said reel and also as engaging means relative to amaterial utilizing device, b. first means associated with said firstflange for holding a spool in fixed angular relationship relative to andintermediate said flanges and for windably activating a second of saidflanges in response to the windable activation of said first flange bysaid material utilizing device, said first means including a pair ofcylindrical anchor posts fixed to said first flange and a pair ofcircular apertures formed in said second flange, and c. second meansassociated with said second flange and engageably cooperating with saidfirst means to securably hold said spool between said flanges such thatsaid spool defines said spaced-apart relationship therebetween, saidsecond means including a pair of rectilinear recesses formed in saidpair of cylindrical anchor posts and resilient latching meansoperatively coupled to said second flange, said resilient latching meansbeing manually manipulatable to disengage said second flange from saidfirst flange to thereby effectuate removal or installation of saidspool, the installation of a said spool being for the purpose ofutilizing the material wound therearound and the removal of a said spoolbeing for the purpose of disposing of the utilized material collectedtherearound.
 2. A reel as defined in claim 1 wherein said pair ofcylindrical anchor posts of said first means are fixed to and normallydisposed of the planar surface of said first flange adjacent said secondflange, and are disposed also in radial straddling relationship to saidcentral aperture of said first flange, said anchor posts being effectivefor receiving a said spool by means of at least a pair ofcorrespondingly disposed apertures formed therein, and wherein said pairof circular apertures of said first means are formed in said secondflange in corresponding radial relationship to said pair of anchor postsfixed to said first flange, said apertures being effective for receivingsaid anchor posts to thereby effect said windable activation of saidsecond flange in response to the activation of said first flange by saidmaterial utilizing device.
 3. A reel as defined in claim 2 wherein saidpair of rectilinear recesses of said second means formed in said anchorposts of said first means are of predetermined length and depth anddisposed on the side of said anchor posts adjacent said central apertureof said first flange, and wherein said resiLient latching meansoperatively coupled to said second flange is disposed on the exteriorplanar surface thereof opposite the surface adjacent said first flange,said resilient latching means being contiguously disposed relative tosaid pair of circular apertures formed in said second flange andcooperably disposed relative to said rectilinear recesses formed in saidanchor posts such that a said spool is securably held between saidflanges.
 4. A reel as defined in claim 3 wherein said resilient latchingmeans comprises: a. a generally U-shaped web member attached to saidexterior planar surface of said second flange at a predeterminedintermediate point along a base portion of said web member, and b. apair of offset projections integrally formed on the free-end extremitiesof said U-shaped web member, said projections extending outwardly of theweb member in a plane contiguous to and parallel with the plane of saidexterior surface of said second flange, said free-end extremities ofsaid web member being yieldably displaceable from a normal set inwardlyof said pair of circular apertures formed in said second flange and ofsaid pair of anchor posts fixed to said first flange such that upontermination of said displacement said extremities resiliently return tosaid normal set wherein said projections thereof latchably engage saidpair of rectilinear recesses of said anchor posts and particularly apair of outermost ledges formed thereby.
 5. A reel as defined in claim 4wherein said resilient latching means is additionally provided with aprotective guide bar fixed to said exterior surface of said secondflange, said bar serving to guidably retain and to support the outermostextremities of said offset projections of said U-shaped web memberduring said yieldable displacement and resilient return thereof, saidsupport serving further to oppose extraneous forces that might beapplied to said U-shaped web member and to thereby preserve saidattachment thereof to said exterior surface of said second flange.
 6. Areel as defined in claim 4 wherein said U-shaped web member isadditionally provided with a pair of manually operable tabs integrallyformed on the free-end extremities thereof opposite said offsetprojections, said pair of tabs being manually contractable to effectuatesaid yieldable displacement of said free-end extremities and said offsetprojections to thereby unlatch said offset projections and said secondflange from said anchor posts and said first flange.
 7. A ribbon take-upreel for use in a ribbon utilizing device wherein the utilized ribbonmay be effectively collected and disposed of, said take-up reelcomprising; a. a pair of separatable spaced-apart flanges at least afirst of which is provided with a central aperture serving as an axis ofrotation for said reel and also as engaging means relative to saidribbon utilizing device, b. a ribbon spool effective for windablycollecting said utilized ribbon for effectively disposing of same, saidspool having a central aperture coaxially disposed of said centralaperture of said first flange and engageable by said ribbon utilizingdevice, c. first means associated with said first flange for holdingsaid ribbon spool in fixed angular relationship relative to andintermediate said flanges and for rotatably activating a second of saidflanges in response to the activation of said first flange by saidribbon utilizing device, said first means including a pair ofcylindrical anchor posts fixed to said first flange and a pair ofcircular apertures formed in said second flange, and d. second meansassociated with said second flange and engageably cooperating with saidfirst means to securably hold said ribbon spool between said flangessuch that said spool defines said spaced-apart relationshiptherebetween, said second means including a pair of rectilinear recessesformed in said pair of cylindrical anchor posts and resilient latchingmeans operatively coupled to sAid second flange, said resilient latchingmeans being manually manipulatable to disengage said second flange fromsaid first flange to thereby effectuate removal of said ribbon spool anddisposition of the utilized ribbon woundably collected therearound.
 8. Areel as defined in claim 7 wherein said pair of cylindrical anchor postsof said first means are fixed to and normally disposed of the planarsurface of said first flange adjacent said second flange, and aredisposed in radial straddling relationship to said central aperture ofsaid first flange, said anchor posts being effective for receiving asaid ribbon spool by means of at least a pair of correspondinglydisposed apertures formed therein, and wherein said pair of circularapertures of said first means are formed in said second flange incorresponding radial relationship to said pair of anchor posts fixed tosaid first flange, said apertures being effective for receiving saidanchor posts to thereby effect said windable activation of said secondflange in response to the activation of said first flange by said ribbonutilizing device.
 9. A reel as defined in claim 8 wherein said pair ofrectilinear recesses of said second means formed in said anchor posts ofsaid first means are of predetermined length and depth and disposed onthe side of said anchor posts adjacent said central aperture of saidfirst flange, and wherein said resilient latching means operativelycoupled to said second flange is disposed on the exterior planar surfacethereof opposite the surface adjacent said first flange, said resilientlatching means being contiguously disposed relative to said pair ofcircular apertures formed in said second flange and cooperably disposedrelative to said rectilinear recesses formed in said anchor posts suchthat a said ribbon spool is securably held between said flanges.
 10. Areel as defined in claim 9 wherein said resilient latching meanscomprises: a. a generally U-shaped web member attached to said exteriorplanar surface of said second flange at a predetermined intermediatepoint along a base portion of said web member, and b. a pair of offsetprojections integrally formed on the free-end extremities of saidU-shaped web member, said projections extending outwardly of the webmember in a plane contiguous to and parallel with the plane of saidexterior surface of said second flange, said free-end extremities ofsaid web member being yieldably displaceable from a normal set inwardlyof said pair of circular apertures formed in said second flange and ofsaid pair of anchor posts fixed to said first flange such that upontermination of said displacement said extremities resiliently return tosaid normal set wherein said projections thereof latchably engage saidpair of rectilinear recesses of said anchor posts and particularly apair of outermost ledges formed thereby.
 11. A reel as defined in claim10 wherein said resilient latching means is additionally provided with aprotective guide bar fixed to said exterior surface of said secondflange, said bar serving to guidably retain and to support the outermostextremities of said offset projections of said U-shaped web memberduring said yieldable displacement and resilient return thereof, saidsupport serving further to oppose extraneous forces that might beapplied to said U-shaped web member and to thereby preserve saidattachment thereof to said exterior surface of said second flange.
 12. Areel as defined in claim 10 wherein said U-shaped web member isadditionally provided with a pair of manually operable tabs integrallyformed on the free-end extremities thereof opposite said offsetprojections, said pair of tabs being manually contractable to effectuatesaid yieldable displacement of said free-end extremities and said offsetprojections to thereby unlatch said offset projections and said secondflange from said anchor posts and said first flange.
 13. A device forwindably holding a roll of material iN material utilizing apparatus suchthat a roll of used material may conveniently be removed therefrom anddiscarded, said device comprising: a. a first retainer member having acentral aperture engageably associated with said utilizing apparatus andhaving also a pair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts normallydisposed of said first member on opposite sides of said centralaperture, b. a material holding member receivable by said cylindricalanchor posts for windable rotation with said first retainer member, andc. a second retainer member having a pair of apertures receivablycorresponding to said pair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts of saidfirst retainer member, and having also manually operable resilientlatching means cooperably associated with the recesses of said pair ofrecessed cylindrical anchor posts such that upon the manual manipulationof said latching means against its normal resiliency said secondretainer member may be removed from said first retainer member to permitthe discarding of said material holding member and the used materialwound therearound.
 14. A device for holding a roll of material inmaterial utilizing apparatus such that a roll of unused material may beinstalled therein preparatory to its unwindable utilization, and suchthat a roll of rewound used material may be removed therefrom anddiscarded, said device comprising: a. a first retainer member having acentral aperture engageably associated with said utilizing apparatus andhaving also a pair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts normallydisposed of said first member on opposite sides of said centralaperture, and b. a second retainer member having a pair of aperturesreceivably corresponding to said pair of recessed cylindrical anchorposts of said first retainer member, and having also manually operableresilient latching means cooperably associated with the recesses of saidpair of recessed cylindrical anchor posts such that said second retainermember may be removed from said first retainer member for the insertableinstallation of a new roll of unused material therebetween and for theremoval of a roll of used material therefrom, the manual manipulation ofsaid latching means against its normal resiliency serving to effectuatesaid removal of said first retainer member from said second retainermember and the release of said latching means to the control of itsnormal resiliency upon said insertable installation of a new roll ofunused material serving to secure said second retainer member to saidfirst retainer member preparatory to the unwindable utilization of saidnew roll of material by said material utilizing apparatus.